Holiday Book Shopping

Its not even Halloween Thanksgiving, and all these articles about Wal-Mart Stores (they said they cut prices on 15,000 items this week, 20% more than a year earlier) has me already thinking about getting an early jump on Christmas shopping.

I’ve only just begun thinking about some gifts, when i came across these few books that look intriguing;

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To Infinity and Beyond!: The Story of Pixar Animation Studios:

Pixar_2 Wired had a killer review of this, which would be perfect for my movie loving friends with children: 

"To Infinity and Beyond! The Story of Pixar Animation Studios
is not that book. Instead, Karen Paik and Leslie Iwerk’s coffee-table
retrospective — packed with concept art, storyboards, and other fanboy
fodder — tells a gleaming rags-to-riches story with the happiest of
endings: How, in 1984, computer whiz Ed Catmull, whose underappreciated
computer division at Lucasfilm cracked the problem of computerized
motion-blur — then the holy grail of animation — hires John Lasseter,
sensing that the Disney washout’s storytelling chops could take the
fast-developing medium to a new level. How, two years later, Apple
exile Jobs hands Lucas $10 million for Catmull’s embattled group, then
lets it stumble along as a failing computer company until it scores an
Oscar in 1988 for Lasseter’s short, Tin Toy. Five of the
top-grossing films of all time follow, and Pixar grows into The Toy
That Ate Disney."

~~~

Ralph Lauren:

RlToo expensive to buy for yourself, yet not so outrageous as to be inappropriately exhorbitant.

The perfect choice for that certain teacher of Fashion Illustration and Design . . . especially if its your wife, who I am betting won’t read this far down to know I am talking about her!   ; )

Amazon Description: "Unlike many designers, he is not known for a single signature look, but rather for his sweeping dreams of American living. Over the course of his career, the images of luxury, adventure, and beauty that he created have come to define American style. In this visually stunning book, Lauren speaks candidly for the first time ever about himself and his art. In part one, we get to know the designer through never-before-seen pictures of him in private life and with his family, living the lives he designs for. In his own words, we hear about his life, work, and inspiration. . ."

~~~

Speed, Style, And Beauty

Speed_style

A random clicked defined — from the above book, I somehow managed to click and click again and found this gorgeous looking photo book of Lauren’s impeccable auto collection.

This book has my car pal Jan’s name written all over it (he’s done appraisals for Lauren, and raves about the collection).

Publisher’s Description: "Bugatti and Bentley, Alfa and Aston, Mercedes and McLaren–these are
not merely cars, they are some of the most exquisite automobiles ever
assembled, selected by Ralph Lauren, one of the most foremost designers
of our time. This breathtaking volume, which accompanies a major
exhibition at the MFA, Boston, features 29 of these wonders–from such
unparalleled masterpieces as the 1930 Mercedes Benz "Count Trossi," the
1938 Alfa Romeo Mille Miglia, and the 1938 Bugatti Atlantic Coupe to
marvels from Jaguar, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche, and eve a Ford
"Woody"–each of these vehicles is beautifully and lovingly photographed
and presented with authoritative elegance."

~~~

Write it When I’m Gone

Ford_2
I am not that much of a presidential history buff, but this one looks interesting: What is described as "an extraordinary series of private interviews" this book was composed over the course of sixteen years. The twist was this stipulation: they were not to be released until
after President Ford’s death:

"In 1974, award-winning journalist and author Thomas DeFrank, then a young correspondent for Newsweek,
was interviewing Vice President Gerald R. Ford when Ford blurted out
something astonishingly indiscreet related to the White House, came
around his desk, grabbed DeFrank’s tie, and told the reporter he could
not leave the room until he promised not to publish it. "Write it when
I’m dead," he said-and that agreement formed the basis for their
relationship for the next thirty-two years."

Sounds intriguing to me . . .

~~~

Clapton: The Autobiography

Clapton_2

I’m a big Clapton fan, and I’d be lying if i didn’t say I wasn’t the tiniest bit interested in his life of debauchery: It is, after all, a tale of Sex, Drugs, & Rock N Roll.

This has a winter vacation beach read written all over it.

The  last Rock-n-Roll book I read was So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star: How I Machine-Gunned a Roomful Of Record Executives and Other True Tales from a Drummer’s Life — it was a very fun read — probably a lot lighter than Clapton’s . . .   

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What's been said:

Discussions found on the web:
  1. jw commented on Oct 31

    Wal-Mart cut prices on 15,000 items? No wonder there’s no inflation!

  2. Jmay commented on Oct 31

    I read an excerpt from Clapton’s book in this month’s Vanity Fair. It was interesting reading — but wow, I didn’t realize what a *expetive* he was! (spoilers ahead)

    If you’re Clapton you:

    1) Decide you are over your wife and leave her for an Italian model
    2) Tell the Italian model you want her to have your baby and convince her to go off the pill
    3) Once the Italian model is pregnant, you decide you don’t really love her, nor she you, and leave her
    4) After confessing that your mistress is pregnant with your child, you beg your wife to take you back
    5) After your wife takes you back, you throw her out of the house in an alcoholic rage
    6) After your mistress bears your child, you decides she’s better off raising the child alone because you aren’t fit to be a father

    Look, I love Clapton as much as the next guy, and I salute him for being so honest about his faults. But DAMN!

    Ultimately it’s a story about him getting sober. I hope he’s still on the wagon…

  3. M. High commented on Oct 31

    Actually, I was wondering if you were going to comment on the Wal-Mart thing. One radio commentator speculated that major retailers are spooked by the softness of the economy and are trying to squeeze as much money out of the Christmas buyers as possible now – before it runs out. Any thoughts on that idea?

  4. MAS (Seattle) commented on Nov 1

    I almost wanted to check into rehab after reading Motley Crue’s THE DIRT. :)

  5. a commented on Nov 1

    hang on a minute…

    Its not even Halloween Thanksgiving, and all these articles about Wal-Mart Stores (they said they cut prices on 15,000 items this week, 20% more than a year earlier)

    Bit of a contradiction with the other posts on supposedly rampant inflation don’t you think?

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